February 11, 2025 • 30 mins
For Amy, servant leadership is the cornerstone of her educational and personal philosophy. She is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Mary, where she herself earned her BA in Communication. She then earned her MA in Communication from the University of Nevada. Preparing students to succeed in today’s increasingly dynamic and complex world requires a great deal of effort, passion, and patience.
Amy is a professor who believes it is her responsibility to know who her learners are, what knowledge and experiences they bring forward, and work collaboratively with students to open new doors and new ways of thinking in order to prepare them for their future.
Amy’s greatest passion is volunteerism and advocacy, and the betterment it brings to communities. She is actively involved in the community, serving as the Communications Chair for Soul 57 and the Chair of the Board for 31:8 Project. When she’s not in the classroom, you can find her watching a sporting event, reading a good book, or traveling.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thank you for tuning in to These Are Your Neighbors,
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. The purpose of
the Bismarck Human Relations Committee is to create an atmosphere
of inclusion, equality, and accessibility through education and outreach to
recognize the value of a diverse community. For more information
(00:33):
about the Human Relations Committee, visit bismarckand dot gov.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
Tia Jorgison and Sergian Owitsky, both members of the City
of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee. Thank you for joining us
as we interview our neighbors or subject matter experts in diversity, inclusion, accessibility,
and equality.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Our guest today is Amy Holler. For Amy Servant Leadership
visit the corner stone of her educational and personal philosophy.
She is an assistant professor of Communication at the University
of Mary where she herself earned her bachelor's in communication.
She then earned her master's in communication from the University
of Nevada. Preparing students to succeed in today's increasingly dynamic
(01:17):
and complex world requires a great deal of effort, passion,
and patience. Amy is a professor who believes it is
her responsibility to know who her learners are, what knowledge
and experiences they bring forward, and work collaboratively with students
to open new doors and new ways of thinking in
order to prepare them for their future. Amy's greatest passion
(01:39):
is volunteerism and advocacy and the betterment it brings to communities.
She's actively involved in the community, serving as the communications
chair for Soul fifty seven and the chair of the
board for thirty one eight Project. When she's not in
the classroom, you can find her watching the sporting event,
reading a good book, or traveling.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Welcome Amy, thank you for having me today.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So Amy, first off, why do you make Bismarck home?
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Well? I first, as Tia just mentioned, came to the
University of Mary for my undergraduate degree, and I instantly
fell in love with Bismarck. We had a great opportunity
as students to get involved with the community, not just
on campus, but into the community itself, and so from
that experience, I just Bismarck always held a really special
(02:24):
place in my heart because we were able to see
that the average everyday person could be a servant leader
and really make an impact on the community. So when
I finished my master's degree, we were living in Las
Vegas at the time, and we were really trying to
decide we had just had our daughter, what we were
going to do, and my husband and I decided that
Bismarck would be a great place to move to. And
(02:47):
we were looking for a community that would allow us
to do good work, do good things, raise a family,
strong education system, and really a place that we could
essentially invest some time in energy and see some great output.
So Chis Marks always had a really special place in
my heart. My husband also felt very connected to the
(03:08):
city as well. So it was a really easy decision
for us to move back to Bismarck, just because of
the ideas that you can have some impact here.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So then, what made you want to go into education
after receiving your communications degree.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, I actually knew I wanted to be an education
much earlier than I knew I wanted to be in
the communication field. I truthfully knew probably back in high school.
I really fought against that desire to become an educator.
When I came to the University of Mary, I was
actually a pet student. I thought of all through high
school I would somehow end up in the health sciences
(03:45):
or health career field, and it did not invoke a
great deal of passion to me. When I got to
the inorganic chemistry class was really the turning point for
me where I realized that I really want to help people,
but I don't think hell sciences or healthcare is for me.
And so it really became an opportunity to start exploring.
(04:07):
And it was one of my mentors, Carol Barrett, who
has just had such an impact on my life. She
just said to me one day, she said, I really
think that you'd be good at communication. I said, I
don't even know what that is. And she said, I'm
going to have you go sit down and visit with
Bev Hushkah, who was one of the communication faculty members
at the time. And met with Bev and I said,
(04:28):
I don't even know what this is. Can you explain
to me what the communication field is, what kind of
jobs are there? And so we met for a long
time and at the end of the conversation, I just
remember saying to her, people get paid to do this,
You get paid to do these things, and she said
absolutely I think you'd be really good at it. And
so it was at that point that I started my
(04:50):
communication classes, really fell in love with the field and
just the idea that you get to connect with people
in such an authentic way. And so it was towards
the end of my undergraduate degree that I jokingly had
once again told Bev hush guy, said, I want your
job someday. And she said, how do I get to
the point that I can have your job? And she said, well,
(05:12):
the next step would naturally be to get your master's degree.
So that's what I did. I went on to get
my master's degree. I went to Marquette University first, and
then to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and then
came back to Bismarck. But I think communication is just
one of those fields that everyone can benefit from becoming
(05:32):
a better communicator. It doesn't matter what career field you
go into. It's something that truly can benefit each and
every one of us, also the people around us.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I think it's great to have those mentors too. I
also went to the University of Mary and I had
Carol Barrett.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
She's not Carol, and I'm.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Not an amazing teacher but I had her, and then
I had a mentor to His name was Father Dennis Yea,
and I went English, and he was like amazing, would
always be there to answer your questions, to help you along.
So I think it's so important, especially at the college level,
for students to have those mentors in their lives.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
It's funny that you mentioned father Dennis, because I, by
virtue of just passion of classes, ended up with an
English minor. And Father Dennis was one of my favorites
because back before Birkenstocks were actually cool, I came into
class one day rock and a pair of Birkenstocks, and
he looked at me and he's like, you get an
acuse I had a Nebraska Cornhuskers shirt on and some birkenstocks,
(06:31):
and he was from Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So it's great.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
He was a great mentor and friend as well.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So what are some of the biggest changes then you've
seen in the communications field over the course of your career.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Hands down, just the digital I'm gonna call it a
revolution because I think just the way in which we
even reach audiences now is so different. It's so vast
and so really just you know, kind of harnessing that
idea of how can we reconnect with people in different
(07:05):
mediums and different platforms. I mean data analytics, we have
AI driven content, the rise of social media. It's exciting
because every day is a little bit different. We learned
something a little bit new. Technology is always changing. So
for me, I think the biggest challenge is just staying
on top of that digital revolution, but it also really
(07:26):
excites me.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
So then for some of us who are almost done
bachelors and communications, what are some opportunities that you think
the master's degree would provide for people maybe considering going
beyond that bachelor's.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Yeah, that's a great question, and something that I tell
students that are interested or curious at least about receiving
an advanced education in communication or really any field, is
you don't receive your masters just to you just don't
do it just to do it. You really have to
go into a master's degree knowing that you're going to
(08:03):
start at the same place as someone that has an
undergraduate degree in that field. It's just we hope through
a master's program that you take on more of those
leadership responsibilities. It affords you the opportunity to specialize in
one of those research areas or a specialized field within
the master's program. And so for me, I think really
(08:24):
it just opens up more doors for leadership, and again
it helps us refine some particular areas within the field
that you're looking to study into.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
This might be a silly question, This is probably really
really silly.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
No such thing.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
So in the military when you go into like they
have courses that are specifically for your job or mos,
but also they incorporate the leadership component, Like do the
classes in a master's program kind of also then teach
you leadership as well indirectly.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yeah, absolutely, I think that any master's program feels a
little bit different for those of you that are interested
or have been through a master's program, even the way
that the classes are developed, how they feel you really
lead the discussions, and so your instructor may, in my experience,
give you a ton of reading to do that week,
(09:19):
some preparatory work, and then you're really as the students
developing the questions, you're coming up with the content. It's
much more discussion based. And so through that process, I
think that we just become more we just become a
lot better at becoming a leader and taking charge of
our own education, and so I think, yes, there's a
(09:42):
great mix in between what we're seeing in the classroom,
what that leadership component and a master's Yeah, and I
think that specialized component helps as well.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So aside from teaching, what are some other common professions
people go into you have to receiving a communications degree.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Yeah, this is again another great question. I was excited too.
I'm excited to answer. I jokingly love having conversations with
prospective students and parents because one of the things we
often hear is they just want to become a podcaster.
And I'm like, awesome, guess what a communication degree can help?
You become a podcaster. You can go into marketing, you
(10:18):
can go into public affairs, you can go into advertising,
you can go into marketing. In our degree program, we
do offer a media production component, you can go into
the arts. And so the communication degree again has so
many different facets that I think really can feed the
interest and passion of any student. So that could be
someone again that just wants to become a podcaster or
(10:40):
they want to be a social media content creator. But
you also have those that might want to go into
human resources or into just a more traditional communication role.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
What do you see that most people go into that
are your students.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
That is the hardest question to answer. We have I
look at our so I oversee our internship program and
even as seniors, to see how vastly different their skill
sets are on top of their interests. We have a
lot of students that have a lot of passion for
nonprofit work, so that could be you know, moving into
(11:16):
an executive director position, or it could be again a
student that wants to go into more of the media
production track. But most students, again, we try to give
them really transferable skills, so they don't necessarily always align
to a job title. They are aligning to the skill
sets or the responsibilities that you know, really we talked
(11:38):
about that digital revolution being able to kind of stay
on top of that revolution, so really a variety of
different things. It's every year. I'm surprised that at the
variety of different positions and even internships that these students
want to go into and are qualified to do.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
So.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
One thing I don't think I truly understood prior to
going back was the difference between journalism and communication. I've
really been enjoying the classes that lean more towards journalism,
but it's often described as a dying field. What are
some of the biggest differences between journalism and communications when
(12:18):
it comes to getting your degree.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yeah, it's really hard to answer this question because for me,
I don't think journalism is dying. I really don't. I
think it's evolving a little bit. I think rather than
just completely disappearing, there's still the skill sets of journalism
that we need. So we teach a strategic communication track,
which essentially is a new title to public relations, advertising
(12:43):
organizational communication, so we take the same concepts, it just
has more of a strategic approach. And that's really where
we see the field of communication going, is it has
more of a strategic function that's looking at the branding,
it's looking at analyzing the audiences, where the journalistic or
the journalism side of the field is really going to
(13:04):
be more focused on the storytelling, the facts, the fact telling,
the researching. And so for me, I don't really see
journalism dying. I think it just has to evolve a
little bit, and that's where we're seeing it go.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
And I think that's why I love the research and
finding out the why. Kind Of like you said in
the beginning about mentors, my first semester of college, I
was going for criminal justice with an emphasis on gang relations,
and I had a professor set me aside and he's like, da,
what do you want to do with your life? Because
this doesn't seem to be you know, And for me,
(13:40):
it was again the like just learning why people join
gangs and things like that. But thank goodness, I did
change past quickly.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And I love that you bring up the why. That's
something that I always say indicates a calm student is
you were probably the kid that drove your family and
friends crazy because you asked incessantly why every turn, you know,
one hundred times a day, But why?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But why? But why?
Speaker 4 (14:07):
And so I would say that we're her naturally curious crew.
We are kind of a ragtag group of individuals that
come together to answer the why. And it just seems
like we're constantly searching out why. So that just naturally
came up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Thanks, So how do you learn about your students and
what knowledge and experience they may bring to the table.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Interestingly enough, we just had this conversation yesterday in my
oral communication class. We talked about adapting even our speech
to different types of learners. So, you know, looking at
you know, what does a visual learner need as we're
preparing a presentation, and the students are so good at
helping us understand what they need, and so we did
(14:49):
a low poll just looking at what type of learner
they actually were. These are kids that are asked this
question a lot, and so I had just opened the
conversation yesterday asking them, you know what kind of learner
are you? And three of the students said, every one
of my professors have asked what kind of learner we
are before they even begin lecture, which I thought was
(15:11):
really impressive and really insightful to take an opportunity to
do that. So we do ask those pretty general questions,
you know, what is the best type of learning environment
that you find yourself really thriving in? Because we just
don't want students to come to class every day and
just regurgitate. We want them to really think critically about
(15:31):
different issues. We want them to start analyzing, start thinking
critically in order to be more effective communicators. So for me,
that has to look a little bit different in getting
to know those students. Some of our students are introverted.
As communication majors, we just assume that everyone's extroverted and
loves people. That's not the case. Some of us are
natural storytellers, but we love to write the story. And
(15:55):
so I have found that I've really had to open
my kind of repertoire of ways in which I can
reach those students, and so that might be journaling. We
do a lot of journaling in my classes, even in
my advertising class. One of my favorite activities is they
do it a weekly log and I'll open that assignment up.
(16:15):
They can write that, they can draw out their responses,
and so it's really interesting to let them take the
lead and help me understand how they best learn, which
has been really one interesting too. It's really pushed me
to become a better professor and teacher as well, just
because again, you want to connect with those students. You
(16:36):
want to give them the interactive experience, if that's what
they're looking for, or you know, the opportunities to really
get to know them on a level and in a
way that they feel comfortable sharing.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
So then that kind of reminds me of, you know,
how the differences between in person and then distance learning.
I'm guessing distance learning kind of picked up a little
bit more during the pandemic. Is there any other changes
that higher education has seen since then.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Oh my gosh, We've seen so many differences in higher education.
It just sometimes feels like we're living in the wild
West a bit. But you know, yet, COVID certainly was
something that really forced us to take a step back.
I think there's also some indicators in terms of just
moving to more of a business centered model with recruiting
(17:26):
students for some universities. For profits also changed the dynamic
and higher education as well. So there's a lot of
trends that we haven't necessarily seen an education that we
see today that make it quite interesting and a little
bit of a challenge, but certainly one that we really
don't have much control over.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
So what are some of your favorite parts of teaching
and what do you find most challenging.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Every day I have my students. I would say they
keep me young just working with the students each and
every day, getting to know them. It's always such a
rewarding experience to feel that you're just more than a professor.
One of my favorite things that happens obviously teaching advertising
and public relations is I love the soup lock I
(18:17):
shouldn't say the super Bowl, the big game, and so
it's very fun. We'll I have a student that maybe
was in a class ten years ago, and they'll contact
me after their favorite commercial or one that they felt
just completely tanked and just say, what did you think
about xyz or this happened with a campaign a couple
of weeks ago. One of my students reached out and
(18:38):
she's like, I'm just dying to know what you think
about this campaign. Do you think it really was a
mistake or do you think this is something that is
indicating or trending toward what they're planning to do this winter?
And so for me, it's just the best part of
being an educator is getting to know those students, not
just while they're in your class, but forming those lifelong
(18:59):
relationships with those students and serving more as just an
educator but also a mentor. Kind of going back to
what we were talking about earlier.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
A few of your listed specialties were public affairs, health communications,
and intercultural communications. Can you explain some of the differences
in those varying specialties and maybe the benefits.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, so, public relations, obviously it's going to be focused
on the relationships of the individuals that you're trying to reach.
We talk a lot in public relations about this idea
of brand equity, so building up some positive equity so
at the time of a crisis, businesses or an individual
brand still have enough positive equity that those individuals are
(19:42):
still going to follow, belong and see them in a
positive light. So public relations is a lot of a
human the relationship building side. When it comes to health communication,
obviously that's going to be focused more on the medical
and the wellness information and how we communicate with that
with the public. Intercultural communication is just looking at the
(20:05):
diverse and different cultural backgrounds as well as really how
we interact with one another and listen to one another.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
The public relations and just having that skill set. One
of my classes, the question was if you found your
company to be morally wrong, how would you respond to
putting out a positive statement? And that one that question
still stuck with me. I'm like, well, thank goodness, that's
(20:35):
probably not the path I'm going.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
I think the ethics point, though, is one that we've
really seen having to enter the conversation very very early
in communication education with young students because there is so
much information in the digital age that you know, it
comes at us so fast and you have to make
very very quick decisions. So having a really good solid
(21:01):
handle on your ethical codes of conduct is critical in
any field, but in communication, it just seems like we
have to understand not only if the potential situations or
scenarios that we could face, but what do you do
in those times when you may be asked to do
a ghostwriting piece, or maybe you have to create a
(21:22):
campaign that goes against your personal beliefs. How do you
handle those situations? Yeah, those are the things that stick
with us for a while.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah, So we hear the term servant leadership a lot
in different capacities, and we both realize that you're a
person that really exemplifies that. Can you tell our listeners
how you yourself define servant leadership?
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:43):
To me, servant leadership, I think is really just the
ability to put ourselves out there but for a greater good.
We're really not what it's about. We are the vehicle
in which we can do good in our community and
do good for others. So just being able to really
put ourselves out there do those things that really help
(22:06):
exemplify community, putting others' needs before us first, empowering those people,
I think is so important, but really fostering a community
of togetherness and inclusivity and making sure that people again
feel that impact of what you're doing each and every day.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
And that's I think something Sergiana and myself share with
you is just the love of volunteerism and advocacy. Why
do you think it's important for people to get involved
in volunteering and advocacy.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
I think it's essential to any healthy community. I grew
up in a really small town, and I didn't know
anything other than servant leadership because we had a town
of five hundred people, but we were a very mighty town,
and it took everyone's time, energy, and effort to make
sure that that town was as strong and positive as
(23:01):
it could. I mean, we kept our school for much
longer than many other Class B towns did. In fact,
it closed and opened back up again because of the
community and the power of people just putting the community
needs before themselves. And so for me, it was very
early on that I learned that lesson that if you
want to have a healthy community, you have to step
(23:22):
up and put the needs of everyone else above your own.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
And I agree with you. I'm from a class BY
town Sowes southwestern North Dakota, and we're the same way
about how important it is to keep a community that
small live. I think I had six hundred and some
people in my town. It's important for everybody to be involved.
So you're part of a few nonprofits in our community,
can you tell us how you decide which ones you
(23:47):
want to be involved in?
Speaker 4 (23:49):
This is hard because every once in a while I
find myself in a quandary where you feel like you're
stretched a little bit thin. And so for me, I
had to take a step back a few years ago
and really determine what is it that I feel the
most compelled to really drive home a mission and really
(24:09):
take some time and reflect upon you know, what missions
are really calling to me, What missions do I feel
or what organizations do I feel can be good vehicles
that are effective nonprofits, because I mean every nonprofit starts
with the best intentions, but making sure that you align
with the values of that nonprofit, making sure that you
(24:32):
align with the leadership, the executive director. And so for me,
it's really really important that my values really align with
the mission of the organization. But also I think you
have to be deeply connected because every nonprofit you should
go in, if you're especially going into a board position
or even a volunteer position, have a good sense of
(24:55):
what the expectations are. And I think any good board
does a great job of articulating and communicating what the
expectations are. So for me, I think that it's really
important that I feel deeply connected to what that nonprofit
is trying to do, and then it doesn't feel like
a lot of work.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
That's actually how I met Amy was we sat on
a board together and thirty one to eight projects. Board
is what taught me how a board should run like.
I still think I compare every board I sit on
to how well that one was operated.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Yeah, it doesn't happen just by chance, I don't think.
I think it's again, when you find a board of
people that you can trust, that have the same values
and again are driven by the same mission, it really
does kind of put the other variables to the wayside.
You can kind of focus on what needs to be done.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
So then what advice would you give to someone who's
looking to get involved in their community.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
Again, I think that's starting with what you're passionate about,
or you know, really listening to the needs of the
community and taking a good against just a good check
with ourselves to see, you know, what is it that
I'm passionate about what's out there? Educate yourself to think
about what's passionate for you, what you feel compelled to do,
(26:17):
but also just looking to see, like, what does our
community actually need right now? And so for me, that's
Soul fifty seven. That really came from Jenny, our executive director.
That was a passion project for her where she kind
of knew what she wanted to do based upon an
unmet need in the community, and for anyone that's been
(26:38):
in those situations, finding someone that is that passionate you
want to be a part of that if you're feeling
called to that mission. And so for me, I think
just really listening to yourself and thinking about what you're
passionate about, but also finding individuals that are doing the
work that you want to be a part of.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I think that's important too, because as someone who would
just love so many causes and so many organizations, it's
easy to just volunteer or be on a board for
fourteen different ones and then really narrowing it down to,
like you said, what's really compelling and I didn't even
realize I was doing it. But what is needed in
(27:18):
our community? I think that's really important.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Yeah, I think one of the common misconceptions is that
people feel that volunteering has to be overwhelming. It really shouldn't. Again,
you go in knowing like, here are the skill sets
that I potentially could offer to a board or to
a nonprofit or to a volunteer group, and really making
again a conscious choice like what can I actually bring
(27:42):
to this board, and making sure that they have that
need but it shouldn't be overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
And also learning how to acknowledge when you need to
take that step back to that overwhelming feeling. I think
that's also important.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
So we're already almost at our time. So I'm going
to ask you the last question that we ask everyone,
and that question is how would you encourage your neighbor
to create an atmosphere of inclusion, a quality, diversity, and accessibility.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
It has to start with listening, I think, you know,
going back even to the question of how do you
get to know your students, you have to learn from them,
and in order to learn, you have to sit back
and listen. We don't get to put our prejudice into
what we're hearing from those individuals. We have to sit
back and really listen to what those people are saying,
(28:34):
What are their different perspectives, what are their different life experiences.
So being really open to listening and like truly truly
listening to what those in your community are trying to say,
do or live out to me is really really critical.
Is that listening component?
Speaker 3 (28:52):
I think that is probably the first time that's been
or am I wrong that on listening as our outgoing a.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Lot of times it's communicating with people but not really
listen listening.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Yeah, So that was great, And like Sarjiana said, we
are out of time. So thanks to everyone for tuning
in to These Are your Neighbors? With our guests Amy Holler,
thank you for wanting to get to know your neighbors
as we hold these important and necessary conversations. If you
found this conversation as important as we do, please make
sure you share it with your neighbors.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Thank you for tuning in to these or Your Neighbors
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. The purpose of
the Bismarck Human Relations Committee is to create an atmosphere
of inclusion, equality, and accessibility through education and outreach. To
recognize the value of a diverse community. For more information
(29:59):
about the Human Relations Committee, visit bizmarknd dot gov.
Thank you for tuning in to These Are Your Neighbors,
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. The purpose of
the Bismarck Human Relations Committee is to create an atmosphere
of inclusion, equality, and accessibility through education and outreach to
recognize the value of a diverse community. For more information
(00:33):
about the Human Relations Committee, visit bismarckand dot gov.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
Tia Jorgison and Sergian Owitsky, both members of the City
of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee. Thank you for joining us
as we interview our neighbors or subject matter experts in diversity, inclusion, accessibility,
and equality.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Our guest today is Amy Holler. For Amy Servant Leadership
visit the corner stone of her educational and personal philosophy.
She is an assistant professor of Communication at the University
of Mary where she herself earned her bachelor's in communication.
She then earned her master's in communication from the University
of Nevada. Preparing students to succeed in today's increasingly dynamic
(01:17):
and complex world requires a great deal of effort, passion,
and patience. Amy is a professor who believes it is
her responsibility to know who her learners are, what knowledge
and experiences they bring forward, and work collaboratively with students
to open new doors and new ways of thinking in
order to prepare them for their future. Amy's greatest passion
(01:39):
is volunteerism and advocacy and the betterment it brings to communities.
She's actively involved in the community, serving as the communications
chair for Soul fifty seven and the chair of the
board for thirty one eight Project. When she's not in
the classroom, you can find her watching the sporting event,
reading a good book, or traveling.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Welcome Amy, thank you for having me today.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So Amy, first off, why do you make Bismarck home?
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Well? I first, as Tia just mentioned, came to the
University of Mary for my undergraduate degree, and I instantly
fell in love with Bismarck. We had a great opportunity
as students to get involved with the community, not just
on campus, but into the community itself, and so from
that experience, I just Bismarck always held a really special
(02:24):
place in my heart because we were able to see
that the average everyday person could be a servant leader
and really make an impact on the community. So when
I finished my master's degree, we were living in Las
Vegas at the time, and we were really trying to
decide we had just had our daughter, what we were
going to do, and my husband and I decided that
Bismarck would be a great place to move to. And
(02:47):
we were looking for a community that would allow us
to do good work, do good things, raise a family,
strong education system, and really a place that we could
essentially invest some time in energy and see some great output.
So Chis Marks always had a really special place in
my heart. My husband also felt very connected to the
(03:08):
city as well. So it was a really easy decision
for us to move back to Bismarck, just because of
the ideas that you can have some impact here.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So then, what made you want to go into education
after receiving your communications degree.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, I actually knew I wanted to be an education
much earlier than I knew I wanted to be in
the communication field. I truthfully knew probably back in high school.
I really fought against that desire to become an educator.
When I came to the University of Mary, I was
actually a pet student. I thought of all through high
school I would somehow end up in the health sciences
(03:45):
or health career field, and it did not invoke a
great deal of passion to me. When I got to
the inorganic chemistry class was really the turning point for
me where I realized that I really want to help people,
but I don't think hell sciences or healthcare is for me.
And so it really became an opportunity to start exploring.
(04:07):
And it was one of my mentors, Carol Barrett, who
has just had such an impact on my life. She
just said to me one day, she said, I really
think that you'd be good at communication. I said, I
don't even know what that is. And she said, I'm
going to have you go sit down and visit with
Bev Hushkah, who was one of the communication faculty members
at the time. And met with Bev and I said,
(04:28):
I don't even know what this is. Can you explain
to me what the communication field is, what kind of
jobs are there? And so we met for a long
time and at the end of the conversation, I just
remember saying to her, people get paid to do this,
You get paid to do these things, and she said
absolutely I think you'd be really good at it. And
so it was at that point that I started my
(04:50):
communication classes, really fell in love with the field and
just the idea that you get to connect with people
in such an authentic way. And so it was towards
the end of my undergraduate degree that I jokingly had
once again told Bev hush guy, said, I want your
job someday. And she said, how do I get to
the point that I can have your job? And she said, well,
(05:12):
the next step would naturally be to get your master's degree.
So that's what I did. I went on to get
my master's degree. I went to Marquette University first, and
then to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and then
came back to Bismarck. But I think communication is just
one of those fields that everyone can benefit from becoming
(05:32):
a better communicator. It doesn't matter what career field you
go into. It's something that truly can benefit each and
every one of us, also the people around us.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I think it's great to have those mentors too. I
also went to the University of Mary and I had
Carol Barrett.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
She's not Carol, and I'm.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Not an amazing teacher but I had her, and then
I had a mentor to His name was Father Dennis Yea,
and I went English, and he was like amazing, would
always be there to answer your questions, to help you along.
So I think it's so important, especially at the college level,
for students to have those mentors in their lives.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
It's funny that you mentioned father Dennis, because I, by
virtue of just passion of classes, ended up with an
English minor. And Father Dennis was one of my favorites
because back before Birkenstocks were actually cool, I came into
class one day rock and a pair of Birkenstocks, and
he looked at me and he's like, you get an
acuse I had a Nebraska Cornhuskers shirt on and some birkenstocks,
(06:31):
and he was from Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So it's great.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
He was a great mentor and friend as well.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So what are some of the biggest changes then you've
seen in the communications field over the course of your career.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Hands down, just the digital I'm gonna call it a
revolution because I think just the way in which we
even reach audiences now is so different. It's so vast
and so really just you know, kind of harnessing that
idea of how can we reconnect with people in different
(07:05):
mediums and different platforms. I mean data analytics, we have
AI driven content, the rise of social media. It's exciting
because every day is a little bit different. We learned
something a little bit new. Technology is always changing. So
for me, I think the biggest challenge is just staying
on top of that digital revolution, but it also really
(07:26):
excites me.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
So then for some of us who are almost done
bachelors and communications, what are some opportunities that you think
the master's degree would provide for people maybe considering going
beyond that bachelor's.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Yeah, that's a great question, and something that I tell
students that are interested or curious at least about receiving
an advanced education in communication or really any field, is
you don't receive your masters just to you just don't
do it just to do it. You really have to
go into a master's degree knowing that you're going to
(08:03):
start at the same place as someone that has an
undergraduate degree in that field. It's just we hope through
a master's program that you take on more of those
leadership responsibilities. It affords you the opportunity to specialize in
one of those research areas or a specialized field within
the master's program. And so for me, I think really
(08:24):
it just opens up more doors for leadership, and again
it helps us refine some particular areas within the field
that you're looking to study into.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
This might be a silly question, This is probably really
really silly.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
No such thing.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
So in the military when you go into like they
have courses that are specifically for your job or mos,
but also they incorporate the leadership component, Like do the
classes in a master's program kind of also then teach
you leadership as well indirectly.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yeah, absolutely, I think that any master's program feels a
little bit different for those of you that are interested
or have been through a master's program, even the way
that the classes are developed, how they feel you really
lead the discussions, and so your instructor may, in my experience,
give you a ton of reading to do that week,
(09:19):
some preparatory work, and then you're really as the students
developing the questions, you're coming up with the content. It's
much more discussion based. And so through that process, I
think that we just become more we just become a
lot better at becoming a leader and taking charge of
our own education, and so I think, yes, there's a
(09:42):
great mix in between what we're seeing in the classroom,
what that leadership component and a master's Yeah, and I
think that specialized component helps as well.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So aside from teaching, what are some other common professions
people go into you have to receiving a communications degree.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Yeah, this is again another great question. I was excited too.
I'm excited to answer. I jokingly love having conversations with
prospective students and parents because one of the things we
often hear is they just want to become a podcaster.
And I'm like, awesome, guess what a communication degree can help?
You become a podcaster. You can go into marketing, you
(10:18):
can go into public affairs, you can go into advertising,
you can go into marketing. In our degree program, we
do offer a media production component, you can go into
the arts. And so the communication degree again has so
many different facets that I think really can feed the
interest and passion of any student. So that could be
someone again that just wants to become a podcaster or
(10:40):
they want to be a social media content creator. But
you also have those that might want to go into
human resources or into just a more traditional communication role.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
What do you see that most people go into that
are your students.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
That is the hardest question to answer. We have I
look at our so I oversee our internship program and
even as seniors, to see how vastly different their skill
sets are on top of their interests. We have a
lot of students that have a lot of passion for
nonprofit work, so that could be you know, moving into
(11:16):
an executive director position, or it could be again a
student that wants to go into more of the media
production track. But most students, again, we try to give
them really transferable skills, so they don't necessarily always align
to a job title. They are aligning to the skill
sets or the responsibilities that you know, really we talked
(11:38):
about that digital revolution being able to kind of stay
on top of that revolution, so really a variety of
different things. It's every year. I'm surprised that at the
variety of different positions and even internships that these students
want to go into and are qualified to do.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
So.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
One thing I don't think I truly understood prior to
going back was the difference between journalism and communication. I've
really been enjoying the classes that lean more towards journalism,
but it's often described as a dying field. What are
some of the biggest differences between journalism and communications when
(12:18):
it comes to getting your degree.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yeah, it's really hard to answer this question because for me,
I don't think journalism is dying. I really don't. I
think it's evolving a little bit. I think rather than
just completely disappearing, there's still the skill sets of journalism
that we need. So we teach a strategic communication track,
which essentially is a new title to public relations, advertising
(12:43):
organizational communication, so we take the same concepts, it just
has more of a strategic approach. And that's really where
we see the field of communication going, is it has
more of a strategic function that's looking at the branding,
it's looking at analyzing the audiences, where the journalistic or
the journalism side of the field is really going to
(13:04):
be more focused on the storytelling, the facts, the fact telling,
the researching. And so for me, I don't really see
journalism dying. I think it just has to evolve a
little bit, and that's where we're seeing it go.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
And I think that's why I love the research and
finding out the why. Kind Of like you said in
the beginning about mentors, my first semester of college, I
was going for criminal justice with an emphasis on gang relations,
and I had a professor set me aside and he's like, da,
what do you want to do with your life? Because
this doesn't seem to be you know, And for me,
(13:40):
it was again the like just learning why people join
gangs and things like that. But thank goodness, I did
change past quickly.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And I love that you bring up the why. That's
something that I always say indicates a calm student is
you were probably the kid that drove your family and
friends crazy because you asked incessantly why every turn, you know,
one hundred times a day, But why?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But why? But why?
Speaker 4 (14:07):
And so I would say that we're her naturally curious crew.
We are kind of a ragtag group of individuals that
come together to answer the why. And it just seems
like we're constantly searching out why. So that just naturally
came up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Thanks, So how do you learn about your students and
what knowledge and experience they may bring to the table.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Interestingly enough, we just had this conversation yesterday in my
oral communication class. We talked about adapting even our speech
to different types of learners. So, you know, looking at
you know, what does a visual learner need as we're
preparing a presentation, and the students are so good at
helping us understand what they need, and so we did
(14:49):
a low poll just looking at what type of learner
they actually were. These are kids that are asked this
question a lot, and so I had just opened the
conversation yesterday asking them, you know what kind of learner
are you? And three of the students said, every one
of my professors have asked what kind of learner we
are before they even begin lecture, which I thought was
(15:11):
really impressive and really insightful to take an opportunity to
do that. So we do ask those pretty general questions,
you know, what is the best type of learning environment
that you find yourself really thriving in? Because we just
don't want students to come to class every day and
just regurgitate. We want them to really think critically about
(15:31):
different issues. We want them to start analyzing, start thinking
critically in order to be more effective communicators. So for me,
that has to look a little bit different in getting
to know those students. Some of our students are introverted.
As communication majors, we just assume that everyone's extroverted and
loves people. That's not the case. Some of us are
natural storytellers, but we love to write the story. And
(15:55):
so I have found that I've really had to open
my kind of repertoire of ways in which I can
reach those students, and so that might be journaling. We
do a lot of journaling in my classes, even in
my advertising class. One of my favorite activities is they
do it a weekly log and I'll open that assignment up.
(16:15):
They can write that, they can draw out their responses,
and so it's really interesting to let them take the
lead and help me understand how they best learn, which
has been really one interesting too. It's really pushed me
to become a better professor and teacher as well, just
because again, you want to connect with those students. You
(16:36):
want to give them the interactive experience, if that's what
they're looking for, or you know, the opportunities to really
get to know them on a level and in a
way that they feel comfortable sharing.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
So then that kind of reminds me of, you know,
how the differences between in person and then distance learning.
I'm guessing distance learning kind of picked up a little
bit more during the pandemic. Is there any other changes
that higher education has seen since then.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Oh my gosh, We've seen so many differences in higher education.
It just sometimes feels like we're living in the wild
West a bit. But you know, yet, COVID certainly was
something that really forced us to take a step back.
I think there's also some indicators in terms of just
moving to more of a business centered model with recruiting
(17:26):
students for some universities. For profits also changed the dynamic
and higher education as well. So there's a lot of
trends that we haven't necessarily seen an education that we
see today that make it quite interesting and a little
bit of a challenge, but certainly one that we really
don't have much control over.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
So what are some of your favorite parts of teaching
and what do you find most challenging.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Every day I have my students. I would say they
keep me young just working with the students each and
every day, getting to know them. It's always such a
rewarding experience to feel that you're just more than a professor.
One of my favorite things that happens obviously teaching advertising
and public relations is I love the soup lock I
(18:17):
shouldn't say the super Bowl, the big game, and so
it's very fun. We'll I have a student that maybe
was in a class ten years ago, and they'll contact
me after their favorite commercial or one that they felt
just completely tanked and just say, what did you think
about xyz or this happened with a campaign a couple
of weeks ago. One of my students reached out and
(18:38):
she's like, I'm just dying to know what you think
about this campaign. Do you think it really was a
mistake or do you think this is something that is
indicating or trending toward what they're planning to do this winter?
And so for me, it's just the best part of
being an educator is getting to know those students, not
just while they're in your class, but forming those lifelong
(18:59):
relationships with those students and serving more as just an
educator but also a mentor. Kind of going back to
what we were talking about earlier.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
A few of your listed specialties were public affairs, health communications,
and intercultural communications. Can you explain some of the differences
in those varying specialties and maybe the benefits.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, so, public relations, obviously it's going to be focused
on the relationships of the individuals that you're trying to reach.
We talk a lot in public relations about this idea
of brand equity, so building up some positive equity so
at the time of a crisis, businesses or an individual
brand still have enough positive equity that those individuals are
(19:42):
still going to follow, belong and see them in a
positive light. So public relations is a lot of a
human the relationship building side. When it comes to health communication,
obviously that's going to be focused more on the medical
and the wellness information and how we communicate with that
with the public. Intercultural communication is just looking at the
(20:05):
diverse and different cultural backgrounds as well as really how
we interact with one another and listen to one another.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
The public relations and just having that skill set. One
of my classes, the question was if you found your
company to be morally wrong, how would you respond to
putting out a positive statement? And that one that question
still stuck with me. I'm like, well, thank goodness, that's
(20:35):
probably not the path I'm going.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
I think the ethics point, though, is one that we've
really seen having to enter the conversation very very early
in communication education with young students because there is so
much information in the digital age that you know, it
comes at us so fast and you have to make
very very quick decisions. So having a really good solid
(21:01):
handle on your ethical codes of conduct is critical in
any field, but in communication, it just seems like we
have to understand not only if the potential situations or
scenarios that we could face, but what do you do
in those times when you may be asked to do
a ghostwriting piece, or maybe you have to create a
(21:22):
campaign that goes against your personal beliefs. How do you
handle those situations? Yeah, those are the things that stick
with us for a while.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah, So we hear the term servant leadership a lot
in different capacities, and we both realize that you're a
person that really exemplifies that. Can you tell our listeners
how you yourself define servant leadership?
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:43):
To me, servant leadership, I think is really just the
ability to put ourselves out there but for a greater good.
We're really not what it's about. We are the vehicle
in which we can do good in our community and
do good for others. So just being able to really
put ourselves out there do those things that really help
(22:06):
exemplify community, putting others' needs before us first, empowering those people,
I think is so important, but really fostering a community
of togetherness and inclusivity and making sure that people again
feel that impact of what you're doing each and every day.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
And that's I think something Sergiana and myself share with
you is just the love of volunteerism and advocacy. Why
do you think it's important for people to get involved
in volunteering and advocacy.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
I think it's essential to any healthy community. I grew
up in a really small town, and I didn't know
anything other than servant leadership because we had a town
of five hundred people, but we were a very mighty town,
and it took everyone's time, energy, and effort to make
sure that that town was as strong and positive as
(23:01):
it could. I mean, we kept our school for much
longer than many other Class B towns did. In fact,
it closed and opened back up again because of the
community and the power of people just putting the community
needs before themselves. And so for me, it was very
early on that I learned that lesson that if you
want to have a healthy community, you have to step
(23:22):
up and put the needs of everyone else above your own.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
And I agree with you. I'm from a class BY
town Sowes southwestern North Dakota, and we're the same way
about how important it is to keep a community that
small live. I think I had six hundred and some
people in my town. It's important for everybody to be involved.
So you're part of a few nonprofits in our community,
can you tell us how you decide which ones you
(23:47):
want to be involved in?
Speaker 4 (23:49):
This is hard because every once in a while I
find myself in a quandary where you feel like you're
stretched a little bit thin. And so for me, I
had to take a step back a few years ago
and really determine what is it that I feel the
most compelled to really drive home a mission and really
(24:09):
take some time and reflect upon you know, what missions
are really calling to me, What missions do I feel
or what organizations do I feel can be good vehicles
that are effective nonprofits, because I mean every nonprofit starts
with the best intentions, but making sure that you align
with the values of that nonprofit, making sure that you
(24:32):
align with the leadership, the executive director. And so for me,
it's really really important that my values really align with
the mission of the organization. But also I think you
have to be deeply connected because every nonprofit you should
go in, if you're especially going into a board position
or even a volunteer position, have a good sense of
(24:55):
what the expectations are. And I think any good board
does a great job of articulating and communicating what the
expectations are. So for me, I think that it's really
important that I feel deeply connected to what that nonprofit
is trying to do, and then it doesn't feel like
a lot of work.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
That's actually how I met Amy was we sat on
a board together and thirty one to eight projects. Board
is what taught me how a board should run like.
I still think I compare every board I sit on
to how well that one was operated.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Yeah, it doesn't happen just by chance, I don't think.
I think it's again, when you find a board of
people that you can trust, that have the same values
and again are driven by the same mission, it really
does kind of put the other variables to the wayside.
You can kind of focus on what needs to be done.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
So then what advice would you give to someone who's
looking to get involved in their community.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
Again, I think that's starting with what you're passionate about,
or you know, really listening to the needs of the
community and taking a good against just a good check
with ourselves to see, you know, what is it that
I'm passionate about what's out there? Educate yourself to think
about what's passionate for you, what you feel compelled to do,
(26:17):
but also just looking to see, like, what does our
community actually need right now? And so for me, that's
Soul fifty seven. That really came from Jenny, our executive director.
That was a passion project for her where she kind
of knew what she wanted to do based upon an
unmet need in the community, and for anyone that's been
(26:38):
in those situations, finding someone that is that passionate you
want to be a part of that if you're feeling
called to that mission. And so for me, I think
just really listening to yourself and thinking about what you're
passionate about, but also finding individuals that are doing the
work that you want to be a part of.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I think that's important too, because as someone who would
just love so many causes and so many organizations, it's
easy to just volunteer or be on a board for
fourteen different ones and then really narrowing it down to,
like you said, what's really compelling and I didn't even
realize I was doing it. But what is needed in
(27:18):
our community? I think that's really important.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Yeah, I think one of the common misconceptions is that
people feel that volunteering has to be overwhelming. It really shouldn't. Again,
you go in knowing like, here are the skill sets
that I potentially could offer to a board or to
a nonprofit or to a volunteer group, and really making
again a conscious choice like what can I actually bring
(27:42):
to this board, and making sure that they have that
need but it shouldn't be overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
And also learning how to acknowledge when you need to
take that step back to that overwhelming feeling. I think
that's also important.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
So we're already almost at our time. So I'm going
to ask you the last question that we ask everyone,
and that question is how would you encourage your neighbor
to create an atmosphere of inclusion, a quality, diversity, and accessibility.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
It has to start with listening, I think, you know,
going back even to the question of how do you
get to know your students, you have to learn from them,
and in order to learn, you have to sit back
and listen. We don't get to put our prejudice into
what we're hearing from those individuals. We have to sit
back and really listen to what those people are saying,
(28:34):
What are their different perspectives, what are their different life experiences.
So being really open to listening and like truly truly
listening to what those in your community are trying to say,
do or live out to me is really really critical.
Is that listening component?
Speaker 3 (28:52):
I think that is probably the first time that's been
or am I wrong that on listening as our outgoing a.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Lot of times it's communicating with people but not really
listen listening.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Yeah, So that was great, And like Sarjiana said, we
are out of time. So thanks to everyone for tuning
in to These Are your Neighbors? With our guests Amy Holler,
thank you for wanting to get to know your neighbors
as we hold these important and necessary conversations. If you
found this conversation as important as we do, please make
sure you share it with your neighbors.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Thank you for tuning in to these or Your Neighbors
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. The purpose of
the Bismarck Human Relations Committee is to create an atmosphere
of inclusion, equality, and accessibility through education and outreach. To
recognize the value of a diverse community. For more information
(29:59):
about the Human Relations Committee, visit bizmarknd dot gov.
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